Newsletter 

PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Dear Parents and Carers,

 

I hope you and your families are all happy and healthy.

 

Last week we completed the first two days of our five days of school review. The review panel consists of the reviewer (from an external company nominated by the Department of Education and Training), a Senior Education Improvement Leader from the Barwon Area Office, one ‘challenge partner’ who is a current Principal from a large Melbourne secondary school, a second challenge partner who is a past secondary Principal and current a field officer with the Victorian Association of State Secondary Principals, the SCSC Assistant Principals and myself as Acting Principal. During the review days the team has spent time in classrooms from Year 7 to 12 across a wide variety of subjects. The reviewers have also met with groups of teachers, students and staff with a view to meeting parents later this week.

 

The information gathered by the review panel will be invaluable in identifying what the college is currently doing well (and there is much to celebrate!) as well as identifying areas for future improvement. The result will be a clearly articulated set of school wide goals and key improvement strategies that will be our core drivers of improvement for the next four years.

 

It’s an exciting time to be a part of the SCSC community and I feel very privileged to be in the position of Acting Principal throughout the review process.

 

And now to something a lot less exciting…toilets!

 

 

Toilets

I’ve spoken to a few parents recently who have raised concerns about the college toilets. I don’t think I’ve ever written about toilets in a newsletter before, however I am happy to do so to ensure that parents and carers can feel confident your children are well catered for with regard to bathroom access.

 

In short, the toilets are SCSC are:

  • Safe
  • Clean
  • Private
  • Accessible
  • Supervised (from outside)

The College has a process during class time that requires every student who needs to go to the bathroom to get permission from their teacher, sign out and take an ‘out of class’ pass with them. This is a standard process at most schools and it ensures that we have a record of which students are accessing the toilets and when.

 

Some toilet blocks are locked during class time to reduced student movement around the school, but every student has access to a toilet not far from their classrooms.

 

The toilets are cleaned each evening so that they are fresh when students arrive the following morning. If there are issues with regard to blocked sinks, etc. they are fixed as quickly as possible on the same day the issue is reported.

 

During recess and lunch time, a staff member is on yard duty just outside the toilets to ensure that students only use toilets that are accessible to their year level (i.e. no senior students in the Year 7 toilets, etc) and to ensure that groups of students do not congregate and hang out in the toilets (why they’d want to I’ll never know!). When the toilets are open to students the external doors are locked open so that supervising teachers are aware if groups gather inside, however this does not compromise the privacy of the toilets, hand basins or cubicles. Another advantage of the doors being open is that it allows for fresh air to flow through into the toilets. 

 

Some of the toilets are fitted with vape detectors (sadly, a common thing in schools now) that send an email alert to select staff members when triggered. Staff can then action our ‘vape detecting process’ and identify the student/s responsible. An example of how effective this process has been is that at a certain point during the day two weeks ago, the vape detectors were triggered 29 times in 100 minutes. One week later after actioning this new process that number had reduced to 5 at the same time of the week. We will be relentless in our pursuit of stamping out vaping at the College and students who are caught vaping can expect an external suspension. 

 

All our students have the right to feel safe when accessing clean and convenient toilets throughout the school day. If any student feels uncomfortable when using our facilities they should speak with their Learning Community Leader and it will be followed up ASAP. It is also the responsibility of every student to treat our facilities with respect, to keep them clean and to be considerate of other users at all times.

 

 

Thank you and take care.

Shane Elevato

Acting Principal

NAPLAN 2023

We are pleased to share the outcomes of this year's NAPLAN assessments, showcasing the efforts of our students, educators, and the SCSC community. In four out of five categories in year 9, more than 60% of students are in the top two proficiencies of ‘strong’ and ‘exceeding’.  A particular strength was our literacy performance a testament to the efficacy of our dedicated programs and passionate teachers. Notably, our Year 9 students' reading performance stands out, with an impressive 8% growth over the state average. 

 

Our Year 9 students' achievement reflects the effectiveness of Surf Coast Secondary College's educational approach. Our educators have worked diligently to cultivate critical thinking, reading skills, and effective strategies. The combined contributions of teachers, parents, and students have contributed to this achievement.

 

We recognize that these results extend beyond test scores, emphasizing a comprehensive education that nurtures well-rounded individuals. These accomplishments are part of our ongoing commitment to excellence in education and the preparation of informed, capable citizens.

 

We thank our teachers for their dedication and innovative teaching, and our parents for their support. As we celebrate these NAPLAN results, we renew our dedication to continued improvement and educational distinction. 

 

Congratulations to our Year 9 students for their learning growth, and to the SCSC community for their role in shaping a brighter educational future.

 

Lara Campbell

Assistant Principal

Senior School Success!

 

During this term students across the VCE and VCE Vocational Major have been working extremely hard to prepare for their final outcomes and the road to exams. 

 

In the first few weeks of term 3, we recognised and congratulated a large number of students who achieved academic excellence in Semester One. Over 120 Year 12 students and 114 Year 11 students met our 80% average achievement benchmark. This is a fantastic effort and speaks to the quality teaching and consistent strong learning behaviours evident in our classrooms.  

 

In addition to their work in the classroom, a number of students have embodied our strive values. 

 

English Excellence Program Masterclass

The following students were selected from the English Excellence program to take part in a English Masterclass. They joined a number of Geelong students at Grovedale College to experience an additional workshop with past examiner and guru Ross Huggard. These students are currently our top performing students in Year 12 VCE English based on their Semester One results. 

Congratulations to:  

Audrey Leury

Archie Shing

Charlie Russell

Luc Williams

Quinn Currie

 

 

Lions Youth of the Year  

We were bursting with pride to hear the articulate and intelligent speeches delivered by Annabel Dean, Tobias Kingston Brown and Jetaime Libertore, who were selected to compete in the Lions Youth of The Year competition this week. 

 

All three students delivered exceptional impromptu and prepared speeches to an audience of community members.  Their speeches covered broad and engaging topics and were highly regarded by the judges. 

 

Congratulations to the winner of the event, Annabel Dean! 

Annabel will compete in the next round of this competition in 2024.       

 

 

Hard work pays off!

Congratulations to Camdyn Hutchinson for receiving an early offer to study Commerce at Deakin University in 2024! 

 

Camdyn has a passion for accounting and was selected to study a Deakin Accelerate subject in 2023. This means that Camdyn is completing first year university subjects concurrently with his VCE. He has received a High Distinction for his first trimester result and this outstanding result has guaranteed him the course of his dreams in 2024! 

 

Camdyn is an extremely hard working and diligent student and we can't wait to see what he can achieve in the future. 

 

Any student studying a VCE Access Accelerated subject has the opportunity to apply for the Deakin Accelerate or similar University Extension programs. If you are interested in the opportunity to study a University Extension subject within your VCE, speak to the Senior team or Holly in Careers.  

 

Revision Lectures and Trial Exams

Surf Coast Secondary College provides additional opportunities for students to get ahead in their VCE exams. 

 

  1. The College funds a series of Revision Lectures in every subject,  run by reputable organizations that also provides students with summary notes to support effective revision. A timetable of these lectures will be shared with students and their families
  2. Trial exams are held in Week One of the September holidays. 

The College funds; 

  • External Exam Supervisors to oversee these exams
  • External VCAA markers to provide feedback to students on their performance  

These exams are not only effective for supporting students with academic performance, they are also important opportunities for practice, to reduce anxiety and build stamina for the VCAA exams in November. 

 

We saw a significant improvement in student performance in external exams in 2022, and this is greatly attributed to the high number of students attending the September trial exams.  

  

Rachel Barney

Assistant Principal